“You’ll be home soon, right?”

Byulyi laughs softly. “Yes, I promise, 20 minutes. I’m getting on the bus right now.”

“Alright.” Byulyi hears the smile in her voice. “I’ll be waiting then. See you.”

Click.

Byulyi eyes the caller profile until her phone screen turns off. She leans back into the lumpy bus seat with a long exhale, feeling all the tension from a day in the mixing room roll off her shoulders. The bus is somewhat empty, being past 8pm on a Tuesday. 

It was actually one of the earlier days for her. She was glad for the work she was doing in producing, but the days were spent cooped up in a low-lit room. Byulyi never thought she’d miss dance practice, but her body after the long days felt so stiff. And at the end of those long days she’d only collapse onto her bed instead of any stretching or exercise. It made her feel…lazy.

So when Yongsun had called her last week and pestered her to go out as soon as she had time, she didn’t hesitate to say yes. Well, that, and the simple fact that it was Yongsun, and she would agree to anything the other woman asked of her.

Byulyi didn’t even know what Yongsun had in mind, but if it was something they could do in the late evening it probably wouldn’t be too strenuous. She closed her eyes as she waited for the bus to lurch towards her stop. Byulyi was actually really looking forward to it. Ever since she started working on the album, she hadn’t as much time to just hang out with the older woman. Byulyi could do all the spa treatments and back massages and nature walks she wanted, but nothing was more refreshing to her than just seeing Yongsun smile.

An announcement told her the next stop was hers. She held her phone up to check the time and the black screen awoke to reveal a picture she had taken of Yongsun the first time she met Haengwoonie. The little corgi’s mouth was open in what looked like a huge grin. Yongsun had a similar (if not more) joyful expression. It made Byulyi smile.

8:47pm.

She hopped off the bus and scurried down the block into her apartment building before the cold of the outside world could seep into her jacket. When she finally got into her unit, she merely tossed her work materials on the dining table and grabbed the scarf she had forgotten that morning before departing again.

She had only crossed the street when her phone rang out.

“Yong~” She chimed.

“Are you home?”

“I’m outside your building. Should I come up?”

“Ah!” Some shuffling noises were heard. Byulyi suspected Yongsun got a little too comfortable while she was waiting. “No I’ll be right down!”

Yongsun hung up without saying anything else, so Byulyi made herself comfortable leaning against the wall next to the entrance.

Just a minute later a woman came flying out the glass doors, wavy hair spilling out over her thick scarf and coat and a small flush to her cheeks. She looked around frantically before hearing snort from behind her.

“Byul!” She ran up to the taller woman and pulled her in a hug.

Byulyi was surprised at the sudden contact but gladly wrapped her arms around her in turn. “Wow, missed me, Unnie? It’s only been a couple of days.”

Yongsun nodded and the honest admission of it made Byulyi a little embarrassed for asking. “I’ve been waiting to have you to myself or like a week, Byulyi-sshi.”

“Oh? Why’s that?” Byulyi cocked her head to the side as Yongsun lead her somewhere by the hand.

“They redecorated the entire area by the park. I saw them pulling on the string lights. I wanted to walk around and look at them with you.” Now it was Yongsun’s turn to be embarrassed. Maybe she got a little too excited. When she said it out loud, neighborhood decor just didn’t seem as amazing as it had been in her head.

But Byulyi’s smile was genuine and sweet. “That sounds really good for me right now.”

When Yongsun quirked her eyebrow in a silent question, Byulyi began to delve in to and explanation of how her days have been. How producing is a totally different experience, how difficult it can be to work with the team at times, how crazy she felt from being cooped up in a room all day. How great it felt when they finally got something perfect. Yongsun nodded at the right times and at the end of Byulyi’s spiel she squeezed their intertwined fingers.

“I’m glad you’re having fun.” She smiled softly.

That was the smile. Byulyi’s lowest lows couldn’t keep her down and her highest highs couldn’t even compare in the face of that smile. She squeezed back.

“I am.”

Yongsun slowed their pace and looked around. There weren’t as many people milling about as when the lights first went up, so maybe it was a good thing Byulyi had been busy all week. The lights were meticulously well placed on the lamps and across them, creating a twinkling canopy almost like stars. It was hard to see stars in Seoul. 

It had been hard to see her star lately.

Byulyi followed her lead and took in the scenery around her. The quiet winter air and lack of people gave everything a serene feeling, and muted the world. It was the same feeling as when she and Yongsun would talk under a blanket, the noise around them just a muffle.

“It’s so pretty.” Byulyi breathed out. She watched her breath float away towards the lights above them.

Yongsun nodded. “Let’s go there.” She pointed at the flower arch on the other side of the park. In the spring and summer, it was a small archway that would have roses blooming along the rails. In the winter it was mostly left bare. It seemed the arch had received some attention during the light stringing. It was now a glowing little sanctuary in the night.

The two women practically skipped towards it, laughing at how silly they must have looked, two grown women chasing each other at night in a park. They flopped onto the bench situated in the middle of the archway. Byulyi let out a huff.

“Wow, I really have been sitting still for too long. My stamina must be shot.”

Yongsun was breathing a little heavily herself. “Don’t worry, mine’s obviously not that great either.”

Byulyi smirked. “Yeah but you’re older than me.” She felt a weak punch to her arm.

“So what, I’m a granny and you’re out of shape?”

Byulyi mumbled a content ‘yeah’ and they left it at that. She turned her head towards Yongsun, who had her eyes closed, face pointed up as her head leant against the top of the bench.

Being under the archway was a lot brighter than she had thought it would be, she could see every bit of Yongsun, bathed in a soft tungsten. The older woman opened her eyes then and Byulyi saw a galaxy in her eyes. Her brown irises drank in and reflected the lights above them and Byulyi was jolted with the feeling of being warm, of being calm and fulfilled.

Yongsun turned to look at her. She didn’t seem surprised to find Byulyi already staring at her and Byulyi wasn’t shy about her gaze.

“This is nice, yeah?” Yongsun smiled that specific smile again.

Byulyi had the sudden urge to hug the older woman, so she did, nuzzling into the crook of Yongsun’s neck, digging past her scarf.

Byulyi pressed a kiss there before Yongsun could start feeling weird about being in public.

“Yeah, it is nice.” She grinned.